Electrically-operated vacuum-tube.



v D; MOP. MOORE. ELECTBICALLY'OPERATED VACUUM TUBE. APPLICATION FILED SBPTJZ, 1903.

1,020,109 Patented Mar. 12,1912.

w l k v i 10 WITNESSES: INVENTOR W .DanzZm 7 ;r/an 7760,

M E r The principal object of my invention is to' UNITED STA S ATE OFFKQEEQ DANIEL MQFARLAN MOORE, OF NEWARK, JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO MOORE ELEC- TRICAL CO., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ELECTRICALLY-OPERATED VACUUM-TUBE.

To all'whom' 'it may concarn:

' Be it known that I, DANIEL MCFARLAN MooRE,a citizen'of the United States, and a resident of Newark, in the county of Essex and; State of New Jersey, have invented certain newp 'ancl useful Improvements in Electrically-- Operated Vacuum-Tubes, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates .to that class of electriclightingor other devices "consisting of a sealed receptacle, usually made completely of glass, contajininga gas or vapor rarefied or of any suitable tension, and provided with means for' passing an electric current through the interior of thejreceptacle.

My invention relates more particularly to this general class of devices when organ ized, to produce light by the action of-electric current-upon the contained gas or va: -por, although the invention is not confined "thereto. Inasmuch as in this class of apparatus the receptacle is customarily made in the form of atube, I shall hereinafter refer tothe said receptacle as a tube, It is to be underst od, however, that the term tube is employed as including any form or contour of sealed receptacle.

increase the life'of such devices, especially when iised for electric lighting. As applied to Xra'y tubes and'other devices in which thefprime purpose is not to produce light,

f the "utility resldes principally. in the fact "thatjthe "gasp vapor is maintained at a @stable tension. p l

In desCribing my invention I shall also ass ume that the ltubef is one in which the current ,is applie .electrostatically by means of-suitable, exterior conducting caps, although the invention is likewise applicable to tubesiniwhich the current is conyeyed to the contents by conductors projectngmto thejinterior th'ereof'so as to be inv contact with the contained gas or vapor,

that-ordinarily the rarefied gas employed ,[Indevices ofthis character, it is found graduallydeteriorates under the action of electric current or, in other words, gradually'loses its-capacity to give out light 1S9" that the life of the lamp is compara- Specification of-Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. as, rare.

Application filed September 2, 1903. Serial No. 171,587.

.t'ively short unless provision be made for supplying fresh gas or restoring the gas to a condition in which it will be capable of emitting light rays through the action of the electric current.

Brieflystated, my present invention consists in providing the tube with some solid chemical compound introduced into it in any desired way and so disposed within said tube as to be subject to the decomposing action of that portion of the electric current which flows between the electrodes withinsaid tube and gradually release an element suitable for use ina gaseous condiv tion as the rarefied gas or vapor of any suitable tension used Within the tube. Pre erably I employ in the tube an organic sub stance by which term I include all substances, animal or vegetable, containing carbon as an essential ingredient. While it would be Within my invention to employ any organic substance or compound of which carbon is one of the elelner for to employ a carbon compound i ulting from the electrolytic treatment of an or ganic substance as hereinafter described; and among such organic compounds or substances I use, by preference, those of the hydrocarbon class among which I find that.

those coming under the head of benain derivatives are especially suitable. Thus, for

instance, the carbon compound employed in the lamp or tube may be obtained by electrolytically treating an aromatic h'ydrocan bon such as benzln, toluene, etc, or a de- .by which electric current of high tension may be passed from one end to the other of the tube to act upon any or all of the contents. Into this tube I introduce the substance to be tr e ated,'which in the case of a SOllCl is preferably powdered and introcluced into the tube and uniformly distrib 'uted rotating-the tube, heat being exter- .nally applied when necessary to cause the substance to adhere to the tube. III some cases where the substance to be treated will sublime without decomposition (anisic or benzoic acid) -I refer to place the tube in a slanting positlon with the substance occupying the lower end, or in a suitable tubularprojection, to which heat is applied. The tube fills with 'vapor, wh1ch condenses onthe col walls, and the tube becomes coated internally with the substance employed in. a finely divided crystalline condition. If the substance is a liquid, the walls, of the tubemay be covered with a thin film by introducing the substance into the tube and then rotating the tube while held in a horizontal position.

The tube is then scaled up and attached to '-a' vacuum pumpwhich is operated to exhaust the air or other gas used in the treatment and reduce the same to a more tenuouscondition while at the sametime elecr trio current is passed through the tube in any suitable manner. I find -in practice that the exhaustion many cases. hastens the process of converslon of the substance.

If desired or necessary, heat may be applied at the same time to thetube to assist in-the conversion. In this operation the decomposing effect of the current is accom panied-by a change in the color of the gaseous contents of the tube from a red color at the beginning of the operation to a-thick white as the exhaustion progresses. This change takes place when the action' progressesin the normal and'expeditious man- 'ner. In the caseof scmesubstances, as for lnstance, crystals of hlppuric acid, it may be found that even with thecontinuedapplication of the current,"no apparent-decomposing efleot takes, place and that the light.

in, the tube instead of changing from a red color at the beginning of the operation to a thick-white as the exhaustion." ro'gresses, changes from a red to aivery t in white. In this case it isdesirable to a ply heat as just stated and the product having the characteristics to be presently vmentioned can then be readily secured.- By this operation there is produced a fixed solid residue which forms, a more or less spongy but. still adherentcoating upon the walls of the tube extending in some cases in finished, tubes for several inches. beyond the terminals? The exact composition of the carbonicompound resulting from this process uncertam. In those compounds from which I have obtained the best results,- benzamid and inmany cases acetamid is present in considerable quantities. When the carbon compound isobtained from the treatment of hydrocarbons like benzoic acid (0 11 6 .or; anisic acid (C l-I 0 or other substance containing no nitrogen, the amid results from the presence of the nitrogen of the air in thetube while the current is traversing the same. In this operation the production of the coating seems to be assisted by lowering the pressure of the air or other gas within the tube, although as hereinafter described, the same material may be obtained by treating the substance mentioned in the open air, but with less facility. Near the commencement of the exhaustion the light in the tube isa deep red color changing to -a pure white, this change in color probably marking the fixation of the nitrogen and the production of the amid or other organic compound having nitrogen for one of its constituents; I also employ pure nitrogen in the place of air for this purpose. The same treatment may be applied to a substance already embracing nitrogen as a constituent, for example, benzonitril, benzamid,

vacetamid, &c.

cured in various Ways. If such substance be one secured by electrolytic'action, as already described, the material to be electrolyzed may be introduced into the terminals of the tubeto be used in commercial Work and a current passed through" the tube and contents while exhaustion is going on, thus producing an organic substance'or carbon compound of the preferredcharacter within the tube as already described. Secondly: the coating resulting from electrolytic treatment of the material within the-tube or receptacle maybe scraped ofi and introduced in suitable quantities ,into the tube designed for commercial use, after which the latter may be .completed by exhausting it, while preferably at the same time passing current.

through it. Thirdly: a section of tubing containing the carboncompound or I sub stance resulting-from electrolytic treatment already described, can be used as a part of a commercial tube. In ordinary cases, the

presence" of from 3 to 4: grams of the material to feet of tubing more or less will be suflicient. The presence ot-such an organic substance'or carbon compound within a tube secures 1n the case of a light tube, a

smooth or perfectly steady, uniform light with an eflicient light for the tube several times as great as that of a similar tube not provided with such compound. It is especially useful for external electrode vacuum tubes used for lighting, but is useful for all classes of tubes including X ray tubes and gas or ,va'por lighting tubes having either internal or external electrodes, by maintainv chemicals as described the tubes can be exhausted by using only so-called mechanical pumps, that is, various kinds of vacuum pumps that do not employ mercury.

When my invention is employed for tubes containing a vapor of a metal such for instance, as mercury vapor, it has the additional practical effect of supplying the misstube, I am not able to state precisely. It

ing red rays whose absence, in the case of a mercury vapor lamp or tube produces a peculiar and well-known objectionable quality of light, in which respect benzamid is particularly useful as it supplies in a large quantity the missing red rays.

The carbon compound or organic substance obtained from the electrolytic treatment of an organic material, decomposed by the treatment to its final form and employed according to my invention is of ad-v vantage in obviating to a considerable extent the difiiculty heretofore met with namely: that the chemicals or materials heretofore used in either solid, liquid or gaseous form, when employed directly-in light tubes, form' by the action of the electric current when the lamp is in use, objectionable spots or discolorations deposited on the inner walls thereof along the lightgiving area.

-The exact manner in which the organicsubstanee produced by electrolytic action from the materials mentioned, operates in a seems jprobablethat the gasesheld by the solid. material are decomposed by the electric current and re-combined by the catalytic action of the spongy 'residue and since this constantly and rapidly recurring action is nearly perfect, the life of the tube is very great, being only. limited bythe slow breakmg down or clogging of the porous residue with a consequent loss of the necessary amount of surface exposed to regenerate the gases as fast as theyaredecomposed by the current. :That is, this new material becomes,

the agent in a trainer cycle of actions in which the gases forming the light are decomposed'or afi'ected by the lighting current and transformed into a gas or gases whose chemical constitution is such that they can from the new substance or material be changed or re-composed into the gas which is ctl'ective in producing-the light.

The value of an organic substance of whatever kind and however obtainedor pro duced, contained in" the tube, in securing high etticicncy and luminosity. I believe to 'be due to the fact that the carbon being in chemical union with other materials is in a form to be liberated by the electrolytic action as a carbon gas, the atoms of which become ionized and are in fact the seat of the luminous radiations, so that in effect, said carbon gas is the luminous agent of a vacuum tube lamp just as the solid carbon is the luminous agent of. an ordinary incandescent possible to liberate it in a form in which it maybe effectually ionized. So far as my experiments show, practically any organic compound is capable of being used in this way, although I prefer to yse a solid organic compound since the liquids tend to decompose or vaporize too rapidly, thus preventing the attainment "or the maintenance of the desired degree of rarefacti'on within the tube, when introduced therein for the purpose of supplying fresh gas as the gas deteriorates under the action of the current. Solid materials, or compounds, are free from this objection because they do not so readily vaporize or assume a gaseous condition under the high vacuum and moderate temperaturaat which the vacuum tubes are ordinarily operated. I f a Instead'of producingan organic substance or carbon compound from electrolytic treat- Jnent of a substance within the tube, the same may obviously be produced in the open air by spreading the material on asuitable plate and then passing the electrolyzing current through it by placing one terminal of the high tension source of electricity be neat-h the plate and anotherfabove it and close to the film or layer of material. This causes high tension sparks to radiate all over and through the chemical causing part of it to evaporate and after some time leaving a residue in the form of a coating on the plate that is similar to that produced Within the tube which has a highvacuum pump attached to it. However, I" have found that this latter method is farmers laborious, more expensive, and not nearly as desirable as the vacuum process.

As already stated,.the exact composition of the material resulting from the process of production hereinbefore described cannot be exactly set forth. In its physical ap'- pearance and characteristics such material, when scraped off from the surface on which it is formed or deposited, will appear as a granular, sawdust likesubst-ance somewhat resembling brown sugar in appearance but readily reduced by attrition to an almost impalpable powder;

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a tube or receptacle that may be employed in producing the substance, and at the same time be a part of the light tube; Fig. 2 shows a tube specially designed for preparing thechemical; Fig. 3 shows a tube forintroducing the chemical in a modified way; Fig. 4"shows a modified form of apparatus that may be used for producing the substance."

Referring to Fig. 1, 1 indicates a tube preferably of translucent material like glass and having conducting caps for the application of an electric current to the contents of the tube. 4, is a small tube attached to the larger receptacle for the purpose of permitting the contents to be exhausted by the ap lication of an exhaust pump. The oil or ot ier material introduced into the tube 1, if.

of liquid form, is preferably spread over the interior surface by shaking the tube and the tube is then allowed to drain off after which it is sealed and the current applied and the tube exhausted during the treatment by the electrolyzing current.

Referring to Fig. 2, after treatment of the chemical is completed, which may be judged by the changed appearance of the coating in the translucent section 2, which generally changes to a brown color, the tube is opened and said material may be scraped off and introduced into tubes like 3, Fig. 1, to be sealed to tube 5, which, of course, has an electrical terminal at its other end, and the manufacture of the lamp completed by the exhaustion of the contents to the desired degree of rarefaction in any proper manner. 'lfi ls'tead of recovering the material by scrapin g'it from the surfaces on which it is used,

by evaporation.

it may be washed off by the use of various liquids such as alcohol and then recovered In Fig. 3, 6 indicates a se arate receptacle 'in which the substance may e placed so that when heated its vapors will pass into and condense on the walls of- 7, the exterior 'of' which is coated with graphite or-other suitable material which is connected with the wire S'leading to a source of electricity of suitable potential.

In Fig.4, 9 indicates a plate upon which 'hereinbefore set forth.

the substance 10 to be treated may be spread, and 11 and 12 the electrodes for electrolyzing said material in one of the manners previously mentioned, viz: in the open air.

In the foregoin specification and annexed claims the term tube is used as synonymous with a sealed receptacle of any form or contour. Y

My invention is not limited to tubes containing only a rarefied gas acting and acted upon as herein described, but may be used with 'tubes in which there is also a mercury vapor or other metallic or mineral vapor or gas.

The new material or substance resulting.

from the electrolysis process as hereinbefore described, is not herein claimed, exceptingas applied to the interior of an electricallyoperated gas or vapor tube for the purposes Said material or substance as well as the manner of producing the same form the subject of claims in the application for patent filed by me April 21st, 1904, Serial No. 204,174 as a division of the present application.

The particular methods of manufacturing gas or vapor tubes to secure a tube containing the material herein described and claimed are not herein claimed, as they also form the subject of claims in another application for patent filed by me April21st, 1904, Serial No. 204,173 as a division of the present application and patented March 13th,1906,No. 814,794.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An electrically operated vacuum tube containing a solidcompound of carbon disposed within the tube and in position to be decomposed by the action. of the electric energy in its transfer from one to the other ofbthe main or principal electrodes for said tu e.

2. An electrically operated vacuum tube containing the product of the electrolysis of an organic substance. I

3. An electrically operated vacuum tube containing the product, of the electrolysis of a hydrocarbon.

4. An electrically operated vacuum tube containing the product of the electrolysis of a vegetable hydrocarbon.

5. An electrically operated vacuum tube containing the product of the electrolysis of an aromatic hydrocarbon.

6. An electrically operated vacuum tube containing the product of the electrolysis of a hydrocarbon known as a benzin derivative.

7. An electrically operated vacuum tube containing an organic substance of which nitrogen is a constituent.

8. Air electrically operated vacuum tube containingthe product of the electrolysis of aldehyde. 1

9. An electrically operated vacuumtube containing the product of the electrolysis of] containing a rarefied gas and an organic aldehydeof anise. substance-of which nitrogen is a constituent.

10. An electrically operated vacuum tube g Signed at New York city in the county of containing the product ofthe electnolysisl New York and State of New York, this 28th of an organic substance and having nitrogen day of August A. D. 1903.

as one of its constituents. v i

11. An electrically operated vacuumtube l DANIEL MCFARLAN MOORE containing a rarefied gas and an amid, as W'itnesses: and for the purpose described. J. GALLWITZ,

12. An electrlcally operated acuum tube I E. L. LAWIIER. 

